Her Story
About Kathleen
Kathleen Petty is a loan broker and real estate investor based in Texarkana, Texas. With 1.5 years in the field, she specializes in property acquisitions, wholesaling, and lending other people's money, working as part of a team to broker loans under her company. Her typical activities include property acquisitions, team collaboration, loan placements, phone calls, and project development. She is currently enrolled in a Sub 2 education program and has worked with Always Capital. Prior to real estate, her career included roles in education as a teacher, trucking, sales, bird dogging, and wholesaling. She holds a master's degree in education in curriculum design and instruction, a bachelor of arts in elementary education, an early childhood endorsement, a Spanish minor, and a music minor. Kathleen is the founder of the Magnolia Farms Foundation, a farm project for individuals with developmental disabilities to live, work, and thrive in a positive community fostering independence. She views this initiative as her most notable achievement because it emphasizes serving others alongside financial goals. Her educational background in elementary education, music, Spanish, and early childhood provides diversity in working with people from various cultural backgrounds and supports her work with individuals who have developmental disabilities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kathleen
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Balance. I know people who want to climb the corporate ladder, and that's fine, but balance. The job will always be there for you - it might not be the corporation that will be there for you, but the job will always be there for you. You work to live, not live to work. And it's a balance, because sometimes you have to live to work, but the whole goal of working is to work to live. Your family, your friends, and the things that you can't put a price on - the most important things that we have are relationships with others, whether it be in business or whether it be with our families. And it's a balancing act for all of it. There's times and seasons for everything. If you're an empty nester and you have time, and that's something you want to do, go to it, spend all your time if you want to. But when you're young, you're a young parent, you have little kids, those are the most important things in this life. You will not be able to replace the time, the energy, and those sweet, cute, cutie patooties. Because once it's gone, it's gone.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Follow your heart. Follow God what God wants you to do. You'll be happier. Money will come. I love the Go Giver books. If you focus on service not on what you want necessarily but in service you'll be happier. Because you'll find that in the process of serving somebody you find yourself.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Finding your niche can be a big thing. One of the great successes is learning to network and networking and elevating your life as far as your thinking patterns go. For Magnolia Farms there are many challenges with how people think about those that have developmental disabilities. There is an understanding of really what it is and a real awareness of their abilities how to accommodate them and putting yourself in their shoes or the family's shoes is really kind of foreign to many people.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is the most important value to me. If you don't have integrity in your business you don't have a business. I value honesty service positivity and reflection. Integrity covers a lot it covers honesty it covers many aspects. You're doing what you're supposed to do when nobody's looking.
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